Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Horned Lark


Horned Lark aka. Shore Lark
Martinez, California, USA
Member of the Lark Family
§An Exaltation of Larks§

~a seemingly endless litany of true bird facts~
  • The only species of lark in the Western Hemisphere
  • Like many birds, these guys return to their place of birth to nest every year. Due to this fact and The Magic of Evolution larks in different areas have adapted slight coloration variations based on the area they live in. Estimates say there are 15 sub-species of horned lark.
  • Lady larks prepare for mating by doing a display that looks a lot like taking a dust bath, which is something they also do. Guy-birds often can't tell the difference, those dumb idiots.
  • Lady larks also like to build a little pathway of loose stones and detritus around their nest. No one really knows what purpose it serves, but I suspect she does it... on a lark (YEAAAAAAAAH)
Loves her Pinterest projects
Likes to save up for a rainy day, has a 'financial plan'
Might embarass you in front of your guy friends by mentioning some kind of girly thing you did with her
Wishes she were fluffier
How endangered are they? Not very. In fact, they exist in all the continents of the Northern Hemisphere, numbering a healthy 120 million. However, they are in steep decline, with a population decreasing more than 2 percent every year. Their numbers have dropped by 60% in the last 50 years. This earns them a 9 out of 20 on the evocatively named Continental Concern Scale. Like most birds, the reduction of their natural habitat and encroachment by people explains some of their losses (quoth wikipedia "among the bird species most commonly killed by wind turbines"), but no one really knows why they're dropping in number so quickly. Love your larks now, for larks are not promised tomorrow.

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